A Vintage Yamaha Motorcycles History

There’s nothing more nostalgic than having some stock knowledge about some vintage Yamaha motorcycles. In fact, you will impress more than just a few friends by sharing what you know about motorbikes, especially if you are all aficionados or collectors. Getting to know some of the vintage models out there will help you catch a glimpse of future iterations of a model, whatever it may be.

A History

Yamaha Corporation has always been known to be a company that manufactures pianos. In fact, they are one of the largest piano makers in the world. But in 1955, it was the then CEO Genichi Kawakami who took an interest in motorized vehicles. Since the company already had an idea about what metals could be used in acoustic pianos, this gave them a head start in the production of lightweight and dependable metal constructions such as those found in motor parts used in motorcycles. Yamaha Motor then became one of the largest producers of motorcycles and they continue to make and improve on their designs until today.

Groundbreaking XS 650

Yamaha has been known to make hundreds of different bikes over the decades. They have made many two- and four-stroke scooters as well as on-road and off-road bikes. Up until the 1970s, the British were used to the idea of vertical twin motorcycles. But it was Yamaha that broke that monopoly by introducing their Yamaha XS 650. It had one of the most advanced engines in its class of large twin motorcycles. The crankcase of the bike split horizontally so that assembly of the bike was made easy. Back then, most bikes were vertically split. This is definitely one of the vintage Yamaha motorcycles to own, which is not impossible even if it was first introduced in 1968.

Yamaha FS1E For Best Sports

Yamaha is also know to have made many of the most successful sports bike models in history. Take the FS1E for example. Also known as the Fizzies, these bikes actually started what is known as Fizz-mania. It inspired many teenagers from the 1970s (it was introduced in 1974) to take to two wheels and almost 4 decades later, they are still on the road. The frame is a pressed steel tubular backbone type which renders it almost completely flat when looking at the top of the bike from the side. With a maximum speed of 40 to 45 mph, this bike had the ability to be powered by pushbike pedals. It had a right hand side panel that contained a basic toolkit in a plastic case. The bike sported a backlit speedometer with a neutral light, a horn, high and low beam switch and an indicators switch. Simple and zippy, this is one that has yet to disappear from motorcycle history.

The 1980s And The RD 500LC

Fast forward a little to the 1980s, and you will end up with 1984’s Yamaha RD 500LC which surprisingly doesn’t look too outdated. This liquid cooled, two stroke, V4 cylinder, reed valve monster for its time had a maximum of 88 horsepower. Armed with a 6 speed running on a chain, the frame was a steel twin downtube giving it more fuel space for a capacity of 22 liters. It’s top speed at a harrowing 148 miles per hour, this is obviously still one of the big bike favorites of many who appreciate the classics.

Thousands of bikes have left the assembly lines of Yamaha since the 1960s and they still continue to churn out some of the best bikes in the world. Still, it is not surprising to see many people hunting down some of the classic offerings from Yamaha. This is because Yamaha knew how to build quality bikes and their seemingly vintage Yamaha motorcycles still are some of the best today.

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